Early one mornin’ the sun was shinin’
I was layin’ in bed
Wond’rin’ if she’d changed at all
If her hair was still red
And I was standin’ on the side of the road
Rain fallin’ on my shoes
Heading out for the East Coast
Lord knows I’ve paid some dues gettin’ through
Tangled up in blue
Split up on a dark sad night
Both agreeing it was best
As I was walkin’ away
“We’ll meet again someday on the avenueâ€
Tangled up in blue
I had a job in the great north woods
Working as a cook for a spell
Workin’ for a while on a fishin’ boat
The past was close behind
But she never escaped my mind, and I just grew
Tangled up in blue
She was workin’ in a topless place
And I stopped in for a beer
I just kept lookin’ at the side of her face
In the spotlight so clear
And later on as the crowd thinned out
She was standing there in back of my chair
I muttered somethin’ underneath my breath
She studied the lines on my face
Tangled up in blue
Then she opened up a book of poems
And glowed like burnin’ coal
Pourin’ off of every page
Like it was written in my soul from me to you
Tangled up in blue
In a basement down the stairs
There was music in the cafés at night
And revolution in the air
Then he started into dealing with slaves
And something inside of him died
She had to sell everything she owned
And froze up inside
And when finally the bottom fell out
The only thing I knew how to do
Was to keep on keepin’ on like a bird that flew
Tangled up in blue
So now I’m goin’ back again
I don’t know what they’re doin’ with their lives
Headin’ for another joint
We just saw it from a different point of view
Tangled up in blue
Dylans sang fra Blood on the Tracks – en af mine yndlings-Dylan-sange og et af mine yndlings-Dylan-album – dukkede op i mit hoved her til formiddags og blev hængende længe som den bleggule aprilsol på himlen, medens jeg kørte rundt i nærområdet for at få styr på nogle praktiske problemer og opgaver. Sangens melankolske grundtone og stemning passede fint til min sindstilstand. Og man behøver ikke – som sangens subjekt – at være ramt af kærlighedens nåde eller rettere unåde for at blive filtret ind i melankoliens blå. Mindre kan også gøre det. En oplevelse på vejen. En halvhjertet, halvdårlig dag på job… Heldigvis kan Dylans sang også lette stemningen.